A Look At Texting While Driving In Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls has had a ban on the books for about four months, but so far, not too many people have been caught texting while driving. According to Sioux Falls Police, only two citations have been given out.

"It's totally surprising. I figured it would be - even me, I figured I would have gotten a ticket. But no," Amanda Viau, who lives in Sioux Falls, said.

According to police, the first citation was issued on Nov 29, 2012, and the latest was just five days ago. Viau said this does not necessarily mean fewer people are messaging behind the wheel because she sees it all the time.

"I think it's pretty much the same as it has always been. Pretty blatant," Viau said.

We wanted to take a closer look. Armed with a small camera, we drove up and down 41st Street as well as Louise Avenue for about two hours. We only saw a couple of drivers who appeared to be texting while driving. We also saw several drivers look down from the wheel, but it was hard to tell what exactly they were doing.

"I would guess 80 percent of people with their heads down are probably texting. Probably so," Brian Thomas, who also lives in Sioux Falls, said.

Thomas thinks many drivers get the message: don't text and drive. But he said many of them do it anyway because they are too glued to technology.

"When my dad was 50, he locked his office and he was done for the day. I'm 50; that's not the new 40 because everyone who wants to talk to me continues to reach out to me through the night. We're an information rich society," Thomas said.